Five people listening to an Unseen Tours guide, Pete on Brick Lane. Pete points upwards to a building as he explains its history to his guests.

Pete: What life taught me whilst being homeless…

Having been a tour guide with Unseen Tours for 8 years, I get asked a lot of questions by my tourists. Through the years I’ve been asked a lot of questions, but a while ago I was asked a question that did fluster me, because it was from so unexpected that I’d never even considered such a question. The question I was asked […]

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How do we talk about homelessness during the Coronation?

How do we talk about homelessness when the world is tuning in to a major world event happening in our city? The simple answer is – we usually don’t! People who were rough sleeping in the capital were removed during the London Olympics for example (our former tour guide Henri often spoke about his experience […]

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Could you be Unseen Tours’ next tour guide for Hackney or Tower Hamlets?

Do you…. Then you could be our next tour guide! What makes our tours special is that they are all created by the people that run them – meaning that you will have the opportunity to guide people around YOUR London. Training will be provided, and no prior experience of tour guiding is required. All […]

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Tramp

The word Tramp has changed its meaning over time, from an itinerant worker tramping around on foot in search of employment, to the current meaning of a ne’er-do-well or a homeless person. But how did this change occur, and how can we challenge the misconception of the current usage of such a divisive epithet? To […]

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Unseen Tours receives funding from Mayor of London

Unseen Tours has received funding from the Mayor of London’s Untold Stories fund part of his Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm to set up new walking tours in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney. The funds will allow Unseen Tours to recruit more people with experience of homelessness in London to create their […]

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Shelter’s Cost of Living Hacks

Shelter’s most recent campaign, The cost of living crisis, builds on the current crisis the country is going through and highlights the housing emergency: almost 2.5 million renters are either behind or constantly struggling to pay their rent, and 1 in 3 spend at least half their household income on rent. Saving tips and hacks are NOT sufficient.

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Memories of Halloween with Unseen Tours’ Nic

Hi, Everyone. Nic Here! Autumn is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. It’s the season of strolling through red and green leaves… It’s also, my birthday and the season of All Hallows’ Eve, better known nowadays as Halloween. Here are some musings and memories of mine about this time of year. Making Turnip Lanterns […]

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Halloween themed London map

All Hallows’ Eve

All Hallows’ Eve? “What’s that?” I hear you ask. Well, you may know it better as Halloween. Halloween began its roots as the time in the year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the departed. There are many theories that try to explain the roots of this phenomenon, and here I’m […]

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Unseen Tours David

David’s reflections on 7 years with Unseen Tours

This week marks 7 years since I led my first walking tour of London Bridge. I was asked to share my favourite memories of this time, but finding good memories is difficult as the majority of tours have been very good, so the bad memories stick out more easily. One thing that comes to mind […]

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Our response to the UK Government’s Growth Plan

Earlier today, the UK chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, announced the government’s new fiscal strategy in a so-called “mini-budget” in parliament. We’ve been reflecting on how this will impact the tourism industry and social enterprises like ours. In terms of domestic tourism, it feels as though this proposed mini budget will increase the divide between those who […]

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